Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Learning in War-Time

Learning in War-Time was a sermon preached by C.S. Lewis in 1939, the year that World War II started. Lewis argues in this sermon that we need to pursue knowledge and become "learned" especially in a time of war. He thinks it is a religious duty and an obligation to use the gifts given to us to perform every duty we have been given.

One aspect that Lewis talked about that I really enjoyed was when he talked about using our gifts to glorify God. He said that we needed to use the gifts that we have been given, even if they don't seem very substantial. He gave the example of Beethoven versus a housemaid, and said that each is okay as long as they are done for the Lord. He paraphrased Corinthians when he said, "We are members of one body, but differentiated members, each with his own vocation."

Lewis also emphasized the importance of pursuing knowledge both for war time and in our everyday lives. He said, "If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure the search would never have begun." Referring to the pursuit of knowledge, he says "An appetite for these things exists in the human mind, and God makes no appetite in vain." Lewis is arguing that God didn't make us have a thirst for knowledge for no reason; he wants us to pursue the knowledge and become learned so that we can be prepared to face the world and all that comes with it. He also says, "The learned life then is, for some, a duty." And if he says that as Christians we are supposed to fulfill our duty, then he is arguing that we need to become learned.

There are three "enemies" against scholars and the pursuit of knowledge. The first one is excitement, which can take over our emotions when we are trying to get work done. He said that during war time, "the war has not really raised up a new enemy but only aggravated an old one." He is telling people that they shouldn't get excited about something that seems to be brand new, even though it's not. The second enemy is frustration: "the feeling that we shall not have time to finish." Lewis says that we need to focus more on the present: "Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the fugure. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment 'as to the Lord'." The third enemy is fear, and especially that of death. In war time, death doesn't increase (because we all end up dying eventually) but it makes us remember death and pain.

I thought this article was very interesting and insightful, and although it was written during the time of World War II, I think its ideas will always be relevant to its readers.

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